If you’re getting ready to fly or road trip travel with a toddler, you might find yourself wondering how you’re going to keep said toddler entertained… possibly for many hours on end.
Entertaining a toddler or preschooler on a long flight can be super challenging, but there are a few ways that you can make it easier. One of those is the Toddler busy Bag.
Looking for general tips for flying with a toddler? I’ve got you covered for that too!
What do I bring to entertain a toddler on a flight?
First of all, some background. I have done every kind of flight with a toddler, from a 15-minute island hop to a 14-hour long haul. None are easy, because toddlers are inherently unpredictable. You’ll need 3 essential things: a good plan for sleep (if applicable), lots of toddler-friendly airplane snacks, and entertainment. This article is all about that final essential. But please do not neglect the first two!
Let’s start with screen time.
I am a firm believer that on flights and road trips, screen time limits go out the window. My youngest was a fabulously well-behaved airline passenger from a vey young age because we rarely let her watch shows outside of a plane, and she looked forward to it so much.
(Now we have two kids and have failed at our ideal screen time limits, but that’s neither here nor there.)
That being said, you may not want your little one on a screen for the entire trip, especially if it is longer than 2-3 hours. In that case, you may want to introduce the other activities first, keep your toddler entertained as long as possible without the screen, and then bust out the screen when nothing else is working anymore.
Alternately, if you have a kid who can flexibly go between screen and other activities, try switching it up throughout the trip. But that was never my kids.
Screens can become a problem if you are intending for your kid to sleep at all during the flight. As discussed at length in my jet lag for toddlers post, you will want to turn off any screen at least an hour before your target “bedtime” and start a wind-down routine that mimics bedtime at home. The toddler busy bag can be helpful to transition to that time!
One final word about screens: if you are planning to rely on some screentime, have a few screen options. Don’t rely on the seatback video alone. Some flights don’t have them, sometimes they don’t work properly, and if your little one is in a car seat (or even not), he or she may be unable to actually see the screen well enough to watch from their seat angle.
We always pre-download some shows on our iPad, plus both my husband’s and my phone, so that we have lots of options and can trade off who is without their phone. Be sure to download ahead of your flight, but not so far ahead that it might expire unexpectedly.
What goes in a toddler busy bag?
Okay, let’s get down to it. What do we actually bring to entertain a toddler on a plane or road trip? The following photos all link to Amazon, for your shopping convenience. But most of these can be found in the dollar store or Target as well.
Books
Aim for portability. This is not the ideal time for board books. Think paperbacks, pre-readers, etc. Indestructibles are geared more toward babies, but perfect for flying with and as a bonus, can actually be cleaned afterward.
Window clings
Window clings are perfect for flights because your toddler can stick and restick them all over the seatbacks and windows, and you don’t have to worry about peeling sticker residue off. They will get absolutely gross by the end of the flight, so plan for them to be “one-time use”.
Stickers
Stickers are risky if you think your little one might decide to adorn the safety card and you’ll be stuck un-doing all of his beautiful handiwork, but on a paper, they can entertain a kid for a very long time.
Crayons and paper or coloring book
This is a bit of a double-edged sword. The trickiest thing about bringing crayons (or colored pencils) is the fact that you will spend your entire flight picking them up off the ground, over and over again. Not fun. You can help prevent this by having a little tray to help hold them. Consider a disposable tray that you can color on, then toss at the end of the flight.
We learned long ago that quantity is not your friend with crayons. We might bring 8-12 crayons, but only ever give our daughter 2-3 at a time at most. If your toddler is content with just 1, that’s the best case, because it’s the crayons that are not actively being used that are going to roll off and drop to the floor.
You may also want to rip some pages out of the coloring book, and give them one at a time. This prevents the “scribble once and move on” toddler method, and also feels a little more exciting for kids.
1-2 small toys
We’re not fans of bringing a whole bunch of toys on the plane or in the car. For one thing, they can get kind of gross and then you have that many more things to clean. That’s why most of the items in our busy bag are disposable.
But it is nice to have 1 or 2 favorites. Choose easy-to-clean options like plastic figurines, and consider leaving the very favorites at home, in case things get ruined or lost. If you have a couple little plastic pieces that have been somewhat preferred by your toddler lately, those are perfect.
Pipe cleaners
I’m always amazed by how much my kids love to play with pipe cleaners, aka chenille stems. This is another option that I love because kids can get creative, make it into something imaginative, play for a while, and then it can go in the trash at the end of the flight.
“Paint” with water books
Most of us have probably seen these books that you can use water to “paint” the picture, and then they dry. A small version of these would be great for the plane, but make sure that you bring one that has the fillable paintbrush or pen, rather than one that you have to dip a paintbrush into an open bowl of water, and ensure that the pen is in good shape and leak-free. We’ve had some of these sets, and they are pretty cheap and the pen can start leaking without that much use. That’s not what you want on a plane.
Screentime
This is up to each family, of course. We did go ahead and get our kids’ iPad when my oldest was 2.5, ahead of a long-haul flight. It has been a lifesaver for us since then, especially as we can use our phones for our own entertainment. You know, in those brief moments that I’m not attending to my toddler’s every need.
Toddler flight entertainment bags
When we fly with a toddler, that’s what we have in our carry-on (along with a change of clothes, and LOTS of snacks, of course). Best of luck on your upcoming travels with toddler!
